ARCHIVES
VOL. 3, ISSUE 3 (2021)
The extent of the applicability of doctrine of Res ipsa loquitur in proving medical negligence/medical malpractice in Nigeria: An appraisal and a comparative analysis
Authors
Ani Chijioke Collins, Iloka Chinwe Patricia, Nwakoby Chidimma Stella
Abstract
Under the Common Law and the Nigerian Evidence Act, a patient who alleges that he/she has suffered any form of bodily damage or harm due to the negligence or error of a medical practitioner or someone under the directive of the medical practitioner is expected to prove and show amongst other things, the particulars of the alleged negligence or error on the part of the medical practitioner. In most cases, the patient who has no knowledge of the nitty-gritty of medical practice and one who also possess shallow account of the complained act (s) of the medical practitioner that resulted to the alleged harm may find it difficult to discharge this evidential burden placed on him by Common Law and the Evidence Act. In other cases, perhaps, surgery, the patient may be unconscious throughout the surgical period when the act that resulted to the harm occurred and thus the patient will be apparently bereft of any fact as to the cause of the harm. It is against this backdrop that this work appraises the onerous evidential burden placed on these naïve and credulous patients which said burden may even be difficult to be discharged in cases where the services of an expert is secured by the aggrieved patient. As a panacea to this onerous evidential burden placed on the Nigerian patient, this paper advocates for a reliance on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur most especially when it is manifestly clear that the alleged harm occurred as a result of the medical practitioner’s act and that there is no possible explanation as to how the alleged harm occurred. This work also carried out a comparative analysis of the extent of the applicability of the doctrine.
Download
Pages:52-57
How to cite this article:
Ani Chijioke Collins, Iloka Chinwe Patricia, Nwakoby Chidimma Stella "The extent of the applicability of doctrine of <em>Res ipsa loquitur</em> in proving medical negligence/medical malpractice in Nigeria: An appraisal and a comparative analysis ". International Journal of Law, Policy and Social Review, Vol 3, Issue 3, 2021, Pages 52-57
Download Author Certificate
Please enter the email address corresponding to this article submission to download your certificate.